Admiral Beez
Major
Indeed, but isn't hitting the ship after it delivered its lethal cargo a little too late? Reminds of the Battle of Malaya where IIRC the RAF attacked a Japanese troopship, but only after it had unloaded.
"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (3 Viewers)
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Thumpalumpacus
Major
I can't remember the last time it steamed under its own power without breaking down ... you sure you're not adding in the tug's smoke too?
Thumpalumpacus
Major
Sure, but now there's less reinforcement capability for the invaders.
Admiral Beez
Major
It's too bad the Ukrainian navy didn't manage to keep their single SSK, the submarine Zaporizhzhia. If the Russian navy is as bad as their army this single Ukrainian submarine would have had a hoot of a time, especially if the Ukrainian submariners had received training and updates from NATO. Even better had NATO sold/donated a recently decommissioned submarine of their own.
Imagine a Perisher graduate and his sharply trained crew hunting the Russian transports, with the Russians limited by the treaty on what ASW vessels and submarines they can send into the Black Sea to counter her.
Imagine a Perisher graduate and his sharply trained crew hunting the Russian transports, with the Russians limited by the treaty on what ASW vessels and submarines they can send into the Black Sea to counter her.
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buffnut453
Captain
I've not seen any reporting that the Orsk was empty. Do you have a source that says it had delivered its cargo?
Admiral Beez
Major
I thought the first video showed the unloading of its cargo including IFVs. But maybe that was historical footage.
buffnut453
Captain
A question was asked upthread about the regular manoeuvre units of the Ukrainian Army. This latest BBC report provides a small insight at a personal level:
The tale of Kharkiv is the story of the army that didn't fail, and an army that failed to win. Defying widespread expectations that it would collapse in short order, Russian forces have been unable to breach the Ukrainian army's lines around the north-eastern city and have not managed to encircle it.
Russia invaded at 05:00 on 24 February. The night before, 22-year-old Vlad and his brother-in-arms Mark, also 22, were at a fellow private's wedding.
When they learned of the attack, Vlad and Mark joined their battalion - the 22nd Motorised Infantry - and headed straight to the front lines. They have been there ever since.
A month on, while Russian missiles still strike at the city centre and at least half the 1.4m population have fled, there are neighbourhoods that remain untouched.
Against the regular beat of Russian artillery outside, I ask Mark and Vlad what they are fighting for.
Vlad's reply is short and to the point, "For peace in Ukraine." Mark shoots him a glance, "My comrade says for peace in Ukraine," he laughs, then he swears and asks: "Who knows? These people came to our land. No-one was waiting for them here, no-one was calling them."
Do they think of the soldiers on the other side, I wonder. Vlad says he has a message for them: "Run. Run away. Either you stay here in the ground or you go back home."
He pauses, but then adds: "Don't kill kids, destroy homes and families."
This time it is Mark who is to the point: "Go back home while you are still alive"
The tale of Kharkiv is the story of the army that didn't fail, and an army that failed to win. Defying widespread expectations that it would collapse in short order, Russian forces have been unable to breach the Ukrainian army's lines around the north-eastern city and have not managed to encircle it.
Russia invaded at 05:00 on 24 February. The night before, 22-year-old Vlad and his brother-in-arms Mark, also 22, were at a fellow private's wedding.
When they learned of the attack, Vlad and Mark joined their battalion - the 22nd Motorised Infantry - and headed straight to the front lines. They have been there ever since.
A month on, while Russian missiles still strike at the city centre and at least half the 1.4m population have fled, there are neighbourhoods that remain untouched.
Against the regular beat of Russian artillery outside, I ask Mark and Vlad what they are fighting for.
Vlad's reply is short and to the point, "For peace in Ukraine." Mark shoots him a glance, "My comrade says for peace in Ukraine," he laughs, then he swears and asks: "Who knows? These people came to our land. No-one was waiting for them here, no-one was calling them."
Do they think of the soldiers on the other side, I wonder. Vlad says he has a message for them: "Run. Run away. Either you stay here in the ground or you go back home."
He pauses, but then adds: "Don't kill kids, destroy homes and families."
This time it is Mark who is to the point: "Go back home while you are still alive"
buffnut453
Captain
In Kherson - the only large Ukrainian city captured by Russian forces - Mayor Igor Kolykhaev has posted on his Facebook page to say a huge new Ukrainian flag has been draped over the local city council building.
He says: "On the night when the city council was fired, the rope on which our state flag was held was interrupted. Today we found the opportunity to hang a new one."
Local officials have previously said there was no support for Moscow's actions in Ukraine among the city's largely Russian-speaking population.
Residents have staged regular, peaceful protests in the city, urging Russian troops to "go home"
buffnut453
Captain
NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg has had his tenure extended for a year. I think this is sensible because you don't want a leadership change at this critical time. It also looks like he's paving the way for greater NATO involvement if Russia employs chemical weapons. He says the use of chemical weapons "will totally change the nature of the conflict, it will be a blatant violation of international law and it will have widespread consequences."
Admiral Beez
Major
How does the combat command leadership of NATO look? Are these guys up to the job? I recall after Pearl Harbour most of the top US brass were replaced with more combat capable leaders.
Meanwhile, 1st April is the next Russian conscript intake. That should be interesting…
As someone who was trained to serve on diesel submarines, I agree with you.
Zaporizhia was under repairs in Sevastopol when it was seized in 2014. It's a shame that the Ukrainian Navy was not funded enough to acquire a couple of subs later.
Admiral Beez
Major
Putin holds rally in Moscow, praises Russian troops as Ukraine fights back invasion | RCI
Russian leader says country will 'absolutely accomplish all of our plans'
ici.radio-canada.ca
Admiral Beez
Major
A pair of second-hand Type 214 U-boats would have been awesome.
Side question, why didn't Ukraine fight this hard and with this level of success in 2014 to hold Crimea? Instead the place flipped for the Russians faster than Kabul fell to the Taliban.
Well, I could write 100 pages about that, referring to my personal experience (born and grew up in Sevastopol)...
Alexander Nevzorov coined a phrase: "Ukraine was lying unconscious and the Crimea stack out of her purse".
Just some facts.
The occupation of Crimea began in February 2014 when the Russian GRU seized the Parliament building in Simferopol.
Ukraine was in turmoil. Top officials who ran away from Kyiv to the Russian Federation: President, Prime Minister, Ministers of Defence, of Internal Affairs, of Justice, of Finance, one or two vice-Prime Ministers, many deputies. Head of SBU (Security Service), etc.
The situation in Crimea:
Commander of VMSU (Ukrainian Navy) who was a top military commander in Crimea, took a "sick leave" and never returned to his office. His successor betrayed Ukraine on the 2nd day after the appointment. Heads of SBU, police, military intelligence, most of the top civilian officials, - all betrayed. About 70% of military personnel deserted and half of them joined Russian forces later. Figures were even higher in police and SBU.
Attempts to resist were chaotic, while the aggressor acted according to the well-developed plans.
Now, if you ask me why all that massive treason... Many articles and books were written about information warfare, about "Gerasimov doctrine", etc. But I'd suggest finding old lectures and interviews with Yuri Bezmenov, it's a good start. Bezmenov's warnings are still valid, not only for Ukraine - for all world.
This is well worth the watch. The question re "Where are the Ukrainian heavy units" is quite interesting.
They don't have chemical weapons afaik. At least they haven't trained for using them since the'90ies and their stock was officially destroyed in 2017. Of course they could still have a small reserve of the stuff but they definitely cannot produce them in a large scale. I think it's quite unlikely that Russia will use chemical weapons.
Thumpalumpacus
Major
The Russians took those up already, from my reading, in anticipation of this invasion. I could be wrong and I welcome any corrections.
In 2022, the Kremlin announced the spring draft early on February 18.[4]
Institute for the Study of War
The Russian military is a hybrid format combining a traditional cadre-and-reserve conscript system and a contract-professional system. While the Russian Army has made efforts to professionalize its ranks, particularly in the last 15 years, it remains
